The ancient world into which Jesus was born was a rough place. The average lifespan was 40 years. In the international sphere, Rome was the imperial power that ruled a large part of the known world. Yet decay was setting in. A third of the city’s population was enslaved. The powerful and rich entertained themselves with blood sports and whatever else they fancied.

Raw power ruled the day. The man who wielded the sword was king. The ordinary people on the streets and in the fields went about their daily existence, often with great difficulty. Democracy, though it had been conceived and idealized in ancient Athens, was not practiced in Rome. In many places, life could best be described in the words of Thomas Hobbes, a seventeenth-century English philosopher. He said, “No arts, no letters, no society, and which is worst of all, continual fear and danger of violent death, and the life of man solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.”

Life was indeed poor, nasty, brutish, and short for many. And so it must have been for the poor shepherds who watched their flocks in the cold Judean night near Bethlehem (luke 2:8–20,/span>). To them the angels announced the good news of the Messiah’s birth. That heavenly choir sang about divine glory and human peace. And so the shepherds went into Bethlehem and found the baby lying in a manger. Though the stable where Jesus was found was the humblest of places, the shepherds knew in their hearts that this was a special baby. They were convinced that what they saw and heard when heaven opened and the angels came was true.

The shepherds must have felt at home in the humble stable. As people who lived in poverty, it was the kind of place to which they were accustomed. Just as well that Jesus was not born in a palace lined with gold and silver. They would not have gained entry. And even if they had been allowed in, they would have felt terribly out of place. The greedy among them would have had their eyes glued to the luxurious accessories instead of the baby. But the stable was a place that poor and simple people could relate to.

The shepherds returned to their flocks and to their poor lives with a new spirit. They were glorifying and praising God. Their difficult circumstances may not have changed, but they were changed men.

While the world has changed over the centuries, the human condition remains the same. Slavery still exists in many forms. Mindless violence continues its reign of terror across the globe. Bombings, hostage taking, shootings, and many other tragic incidents have made us keenly aware of the uncertain conditions of our world.

In spite of all the advances in science and technology, in spite of the depiction of life in glossy brochures and the feeling that we are in control of our lives, we still live in a messy world. The apostle Paul describes the human condition as living “without hope and without God in the world” (ephesians 2:12). Imagine reading the newspapers and watching the evening news without hope and without God. What a terrible thought!

Jesus the Messiah came to a messy world, but He was not afraid of the mess. He could have tried to save us while remaining safely in heaven. But He did not stay at a safe distance. Instead, He came down: “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (john 1:14). He emptied Himself and took the form of a servant. He became vulnerable. He touched lepers without gloves. He took on a life of poverty. He had no place to call His own. He did not even carry money with Him. He experienced what it means to be homeless and poor. He was beaten mercilessly, spat upon, and insulted. Then He was stripped and nailed to a rough cross to die a humiliating public death. He knew firsthand about the human condition.

As we celebrate Christmas this year, our celebrations may well be colored by the pessimism and anxieties we see around us. Terrorism, economic uncertainties, worries about the future—we seem to be living in an era of bad news.

Yet it is in these circumstances that we need to hear the good news afresh. In Christ, we have the Savior, the Messiah. Looking at this world without the Messiah turns our lives and our distant horizons into darkness. But when we look at the Messiah, we see the light in the darkness. John declared, “The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it” (john 1:5). May we see the light shining in the darkness this Christmas. And may God give us grace to understand this light.

As Mary, Jesus’ mother, “treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart” (luke 2:19), let us do the same this Christmas. Let us quietly ponder this miracle, grateful that God in His love has not abandoned us to perish in the mess, but in fact has sent us the Messiah, in whom is all our hope. No matter the condition of our world, in Christ we see the glory of God Himself. In Him we have peace.